Rate the last anime you watched out of 10
- Thread starter Aion
- Start date
sanji no 1
Vampire Ninja
Halo Legends
7/10
Good but it was so downbeat! I didnt realise Halo was so depressing. I only liked 3 of the the 7 stories
But for £13 it was an ok purchase.
7/10
Good but it was so downbeat! I didnt realise Halo was so depressing. I only liked 3 of the the 7 stories
But for £13 it was an ok purchase.
Jin Roh - Very similar in style to Oshii's Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor 2. Lots of philosophical pondering and a plot that develops quite slowly with a few twists and counter twists along the way. Whilst the film is easy enough to understand by the end, I was left feeling terribly confused through much of it by the complex political backdrop. I didn't feel it was explained very well.
Definitely one I will watch again, but mostly so I can grab a hold on the complicated setting. [7]
Definitely one I will watch again, but mostly so I can grab a hold on the complicated setting. [7]
Ponyo - Absolutely loved this. One of the best Ghibli films yet. Charming characters, stunning animation, and a story that cracks on at a fair old pace.
Miyazaki has real talent for creating a kids film that doesn't really on sledgehammer subtlety and jokes every five seconds to keep the audience entertained. [9]
Miyazaki has real talent for creating a kids film that doesn't really on sledgehammer subtlety and jokes every five seconds to keep the audience entertained. [9]
The difference in quality was astounding, really.ilmaestro said:
What I watched.
What I expected.
What I got.
9/10
Better than The Girl Who Leapt Through Time no doubt.
Aion
Time-Traveller
My-Otome: 8/10 - V2
My-Otome is a 'sequel' (of sorts) to My-HiME, and the start of what appears to be a series of loosely linked 'My/Mai' titles. Numerous characters from My-HiME return in My-Otome to play new roles. Some of the returning cast have considerably different personalities, such as Mashiro, but the vast majority have the same personalities fans of My-HiME know and love. It's close to being described as having an alternate universe setting, but there are more than enough hints that suggest it happens in the same universe, far into the future.
So, is it any good? Well, with My-Otome having a premise involving 14-year-old girls going to an all-girl school for 'magical girls' (the girls wear special gems as earrings, gaining the ability to 'materialize' battle robes and weapons) in the hope of one day becoming 'Otome': virginal, maid costume wearing, servant (most have masters for power activation purposes) protectors of the planet Earl, who are forced to never have sex in order to keep their powers and get pushed towards lesbianism in order to forget about penises, you can forgive me for not having much hope for My-HiME's distant 'sequel'. In fact, before I even knew much of anything about it, I expected it to be a poor cash-in, with the same cast from the 'prequel' copy and pasted for easy money. But, after importing it on a whim and sitting down to watch it, I was actually pleasantly surprised: it turned out to not be too far away from the overall quality of My-HiME.
Much like My-HiME, My-Otome starts out with lots of humour and a good dosage of perverted silliness. One of the early episodes even involves eels and a tentacle rape monster; the comedy that ensued being amplified by Nina, an important character in the story, being so ticklish she practically orgasms when touched. But, very much like My-HiME, it became much more serious towards the end, and the early, light-hearted sections that went before greatly assisted in getting the viewer attached to the cast; making the melodramatic events that followed far more powerful. It never reached the Battle Royale levels of seriousness of My-HiME, but it certainly had some dramatic twists and a tear-inducing death or two.
I wasn't sold on the series to start with. The story setup is a cliched 'lost princess' one where, during an attack on the kingdom of Wind Bloom some 14 years before, the king and queen were killed and the 'real' princess lost. When the story of My-Otome gets going, Arika, the female lead of the story, arrives at Wind Bloom, expresses her desire to become an Otome because her unknown mother was supposed to have been one and, through a series of comical/lucky events, she manages to enter the Otome academy. The problem is, for much of the series she remains a shallow, simple-minded, easy going type; one who never gives up and never thinks too deeply. In comparison to the lead of My-HiME, Mai, her childish and somewhat annoying personality is quite noticeable. Where as Mai had a realistic love triangle, a believable close brother-sister relationship and a degree of maturity, Arika struck me as being Mai without any of her character development, and with smaller boobs (a huge negative for male viewers, I'm sure!) By the end, I didn't hate her--if anything, I cared for her a fair bit--but her character certainly could've been better.
Up to yet, I haven't been positive about the story, and that's for one very good reason: My-Otome, like its 'prequel', is a melodramatic, character-driven title. The story details remain vague until the end, keeping the viewer interested in the process, but the story is always a means to an end; a stage for the drama to play out on. The early parts of the series focus on developing a friendship between Arika, Nina (an anti-social, serious... yet kind-hearted and caring girl) and Erstin (a quiet, sweet girl, with big boobs and an even bigger heart.) Then, around the middle of the series, a love triangle develops between Arika, Nina and her adoptive father; Sergay (an older version of Tate from My-HiME, and Arika's 'secret' sponsor.) This triangle works surprisingly well, considering Arika's shallowness; mainly because of Sergay being the most mature and well-rounded character in the show, with a taste for sarcasm, and the father/lover dynamic of Nina's relationship with him. The love triangle never quite reached the intensity of Mai's love issues in My-HiME, but the issue did add an... edge to the series it would've lacked without it; intensifying the drama.
Something I haven't yet touched upon in any real detail, which may or may not be the most important part of this review for fans of My-HiME, is My-Otome's many links to its 'prequel'. To start with, pretty much all of the important characters from My-HiME appear in My-Otome in one form or another, and the relationships they shared previously remain very similar to their relationships of old; often near identical. The blue-haired tsundere, Natsuki, returns as a headmistress/Otome in her 20's (like all the MAIN cast from the 'prequel'); everyone's favourite lesbian rapist and the #1 Natsuki fangirl, Shizuru, returns as one of the Otome elite (and a CLOSE 'friend' of Natsuki!); Tate returns as Sergay... and so forth. There are also numerous nods towards My-HiME inserted throughout the series, the series actually opening with a scene reminiscent of how Tate met Mai. My favourite 'repeat' has to be Natsuki's attempt at getting a car to stop for her--I'm sure people most will know what I'm talking about here!... Basically, there's a lot of content inserted that will increase the enjoyment of My-HiME fans immensely.
What I haven't yet mentioned is the art, animation and sound aspects. Sunrise very rarely disappoint when it comes to drawing sexy girls and adding bright, eye-catching colours, and they didn't fail to impress with My-Otome, either. There were a few 'off' facial expressions and whatnot but, on the whole, the artwork remained impressive throughout and, for both an anime fan and red-blooded male whose rather fond of boobs, it was pleasing to look at. The animation also flowed nicely. As expected of a TV series, there were a few 'shortcuts' used, and it certainly didn't have movie/OVA levels of quality, but the consistency of the animation throughout impressed me; putting some of Gonzo's titles to shame. And as for the music, I probably only have to say Yuki Kajiura's name in order to get people interested - she's one of the best at what she does. I will say that I was slightly disappointed with the small amount of heart-pumping, fast-paced vocal tracks since I had expected every track to be amazing going on some of her other work, such as her work on My-HiME, but there are certainly some excellent tracks that helped pull me into the story.
In summary, My-Otome is easy to recommend to My-HiME fans but, because of Sunrise's not-so-subtle attempts to make it more marketable, it's advised that people new to all this watch My-HiME first; it requiring less understanding of... otaku culture. My-Otome has more than enough plus points to warrant any anime fan watching it and should score highly with most in terms of pure enjoyment but, really, it'd be a totally different experience if you watched it without being able to go, 'Wow, I remember that from My-HiME!' So, do yourself a favour and watch the two in the order they were released--you'll end up far happier with your 'My/Mai' experience if you do so.
Before the end of the review, here's an example of how watching My-HiME first can make watching My-Otome more enjoyable: having watched My-HiME in advance, My-Otome's rather poor ending actually impressed me because, in comparison, My-Otome's ending wasn't so bad, despite it featuring a battle in space and two girls surviving breaking through the Earth's atmosphere, naked. One character actually stayed dead, and another survived without fully recovering, and you'd understand why that pleases me if you've seen hate worthy ending of My-HiME! I suppose My-Otome's ending at least suggests there's hope that the endings will, slowly but surely, continue improving in the future 'My/Mai' anime!
My-Otome is a 'sequel' (of sorts) to My-HiME, and the start of what appears to be a series of loosely linked 'My/Mai' titles. Numerous characters from My-HiME return in My-Otome to play new roles. Some of the returning cast have considerably different personalities, such as Mashiro, but the vast majority have the same personalities fans of My-HiME know and love. It's close to being described as having an alternate universe setting, but there are more than enough hints that suggest it happens in the same universe, far into the future.
So, is it any good? Well, with My-Otome having a premise involving 14-year-old girls going to an all-girl school for 'magical girls' (the girls wear special gems as earrings, gaining the ability to 'materialize' battle robes and weapons) in the hope of one day becoming 'Otome': virginal, maid costume wearing, servant (most have masters for power activation purposes) protectors of the planet Earl, who are forced to never have sex in order to keep their powers and get pushed towards lesbianism in order to forget about penises, you can forgive me for not having much hope for My-HiME's distant 'sequel'. In fact, before I even knew much of anything about it, I expected it to be a poor cash-in, with the same cast from the 'prequel' copy and pasted for easy money. But, after importing it on a whim and sitting down to watch it, I was actually pleasantly surprised: it turned out to not be too far away from the overall quality of My-HiME.
Much like My-HiME, My-Otome starts out with lots of humour and a good dosage of perverted silliness. One of the early episodes even involves eels and a tentacle rape monster; the comedy that ensued being amplified by Nina, an important character in the story, being so ticklish she practically orgasms when touched. But, very much like My-HiME, it became much more serious towards the end, and the early, light-hearted sections that went before greatly assisted in getting the viewer attached to the cast; making the melodramatic events that followed far more powerful. It never reached the Battle Royale levels of seriousness of My-HiME, but it certainly had some dramatic twists and a tear-inducing death or two.
I wasn't sold on the series to start with. The story setup is a cliched 'lost princess' one where, during an attack on the kingdom of Wind Bloom some 14 years before, the king and queen were killed and the 'real' princess lost. When the story of My-Otome gets going, Arika, the female lead of the story, arrives at Wind Bloom, expresses her desire to become an Otome because her unknown mother was supposed to have been one and, through a series of comical/lucky events, she manages to enter the Otome academy. The problem is, for much of the series she remains a shallow, simple-minded, easy going type; one who never gives up and never thinks too deeply. In comparison to the lead of My-HiME, Mai, her childish and somewhat annoying personality is quite noticeable. Where as Mai had a realistic love triangle, a believable close brother-sister relationship and a degree of maturity, Arika struck me as being Mai without any of her character development, and with smaller boobs (a huge negative for male viewers, I'm sure!) By the end, I didn't hate her--if anything, I cared for her a fair bit--but her character certainly could've been better.
Up to yet, I haven't been positive about the story, and that's for one very good reason: My-Otome, like its 'prequel', is a melodramatic, character-driven title. The story details remain vague until the end, keeping the viewer interested in the process, but the story is always a means to an end; a stage for the drama to play out on. The early parts of the series focus on developing a friendship between Arika, Nina (an anti-social, serious... yet kind-hearted and caring girl) and Erstin (a quiet, sweet girl, with big boobs and an even bigger heart.) Then, around the middle of the series, a love triangle develops between Arika, Nina and her adoptive father; Sergay (an older version of Tate from My-HiME, and Arika's 'secret' sponsor.) This triangle works surprisingly well, considering Arika's shallowness; mainly because of Sergay being the most mature and well-rounded character in the show, with a taste for sarcasm, and the father/lover dynamic of Nina's relationship with him. The love triangle never quite reached the intensity of Mai's love issues in My-HiME, but the issue did add an... edge to the series it would've lacked without it; intensifying the drama.
Something I haven't yet touched upon in any real detail, which may or may not be the most important part of this review for fans of My-HiME, is My-Otome's many links to its 'prequel'. To start with, pretty much all of the important characters from My-HiME appear in My-Otome in one form or another, and the relationships they shared previously remain very similar to their relationships of old; often near identical. The blue-haired tsundere, Natsuki, returns as a headmistress/Otome in her 20's (like all the MAIN cast from the 'prequel'); everyone's favourite lesbian rapist and the #1 Natsuki fangirl, Shizuru, returns as one of the Otome elite (and a CLOSE 'friend' of Natsuki!); Tate returns as Sergay... and so forth. There are also numerous nods towards My-HiME inserted throughout the series, the series actually opening with a scene reminiscent of how Tate met Mai. My favourite 'repeat' has to be Natsuki's attempt at getting a car to stop for her--I'm sure people most will know what I'm talking about here!... Basically, there's a lot of content inserted that will increase the enjoyment of My-HiME fans immensely.
What I haven't yet mentioned is the art, animation and sound aspects. Sunrise very rarely disappoint when it comes to drawing sexy girls and adding bright, eye-catching colours, and they didn't fail to impress with My-Otome, either. There were a few 'off' facial expressions and whatnot but, on the whole, the artwork remained impressive throughout and, for both an anime fan and red-blooded male whose rather fond of boobs, it was pleasing to look at. The animation also flowed nicely. As expected of a TV series, there were a few 'shortcuts' used, and it certainly didn't have movie/OVA levels of quality, but the consistency of the animation throughout impressed me; putting some of Gonzo's titles to shame. And as for the music, I probably only have to say Yuki Kajiura's name in order to get people interested - she's one of the best at what she does. I will say that I was slightly disappointed with the small amount of heart-pumping, fast-paced vocal tracks since I had expected every track to be amazing going on some of her other work, such as her work on My-HiME, but there are certainly some excellent tracks that helped pull me into the story.
In summary, My-Otome is easy to recommend to My-HiME fans but, because of Sunrise's not-so-subtle attempts to make it more marketable, it's advised that people new to all this watch My-HiME first; it requiring less understanding of... otaku culture. My-Otome has more than enough plus points to warrant any anime fan watching it and should score highly with most in terms of pure enjoyment but, really, it'd be a totally different experience if you watched it without being able to go, 'Wow, I remember that from My-HiME!' So, do yourself a favour and watch the two in the order they were released--you'll end up far happier with your 'My/Mai' experience if you do so.
Before the end of the review, here's an example of how watching My-HiME first can make watching My-Otome more enjoyable: having watched My-HiME in advance, My-Otome's rather poor ending actually impressed me because, in comparison, My-Otome's ending wasn't so bad, despite it featuring a battle in space and two girls surviving breaking through the Earth's atmosphere, naked. One character actually stayed dead, and another survived without fully recovering, and you'd understand why that pleases me if you've seen hate worthy ending of My-HiME! I suppose My-Otome's ending at least suggests there's hope that the endings will, slowly but surely, continue improving in the future 'My/Mai' anime!
Tenchi: The TV series & Tenchi Forever 7/10
A fairly enjoyable series that has it's moments but nothing that special. I'm fairly new to Tenchi and though I enjoyed the series, I'm not desperate to go out and get the other Tenchi products out there. More than anything, Tenchi brought me back to my college days because I always remembered a buddy of mine talking about it. The movie was also a decent watch.
GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka 9/10
Yep, I officially love this series. I started off by reading the manga and because I wasn't able to read it enough and it's highly unlikely that I'll be able to collect the entire series, I decided to give the anime a go. Also, a note of interest, this is the first anime series that I watched exclusively online. After viewing it over the past week, I think I'll probably see if I can find the 2 region 1 boxsets at a fair price. To me, it's pretty much the first real light-hearted anime that I enjoyed this much and unlike a lot of the other shows of that category, it didn't get tedious. Okay...there may have been the odd 'off' episode but I'm finding it hard to remember one that I didn't enjoy. Plus it runs for 43 episodes, which I guess it's fairly long for your average anime these days. I put it there with Death Note, a series that ran for about the same amount of episodes and one that had me anxious for more from start to finish, just in a different way. A hell of a lot of laughs and you just gotta love Onizuka, to me, now one of the top anime characters. I really find it hard to see in any fault in this series. Solid from start to finish. The only thing I would say is that I personally preferred the japanese voice actors to the english speaking counterparts, the dub was kinda lame in my opinion.
A fairly enjoyable series that has it's moments but nothing that special. I'm fairly new to Tenchi and though I enjoyed the series, I'm not desperate to go out and get the other Tenchi products out there. More than anything, Tenchi brought me back to my college days because I always remembered a buddy of mine talking about it. The movie was also a decent watch.
GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka 9/10
Yep, I officially love this series. I started off by reading the manga and because I wasn't able to read it enough and it's highly unlikely that I'll be able to collect the entire series, I decided to give the anime a go. Also, a note of interest, this is the first anime series that I watched exclusively online. After viewing it over the past week, I think I'll probably see if I can find the 2 region 1 boxsets at a fair price. To me, it's pretty much the first real light-hearted anime that I enjoyed this much and unlike a lot of the other shows of that category, it didn't get tedious. Okay...there may have been the odd 'off' episode but I'm finding it hard to remember one that I didn't enjoy. Plus it runs for 43 episodes, which I guess it's fairly long for your average anime these days. I put it there with Death Note, a series that ran for about the same amount of episodes and one that had me anxious for more from start to finish, just in a different way. A hell of a lot of laughs and you just gotta love Onizuka, to me, now one of the top anime characters. I really find it hard to see in any fault in this series. Solid from start to finish. The only thing I would say is that I personally preferred the japanese voice actors to the english speaking counterparts, the dub was kinda lame in my opinion.
chaos
The Boss
You've got great taste. =)Yuvie said:
I've re-watched bubblegum crisis tokyo 2040's first three volumes.
A great series is a great series. The animation and music sounds crispier than the original OVA's, but despite this, the original series still have a a fair bit ahead of this "remake".
So far it's a 8/10 series, let's see how it rolls as I can't really remember how it ended.
Aion
Time-Traveller
^ No, not really. Someone with taste would 8/10 GTO; someone such as myself, for example.
Also, Yuvie, for the love of Jesus, USE ******* SECONDSPIN!
FSFEBTW Code + $20 in basket + http://www.secondspin.com/search.jsp?pa ... &image.y=0
GTO is OOP and near impossible to get new.
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Giant Robo
It is not likely that I shall say anything new here. If I do, it will be of only minor significance. Nevertheless, Giant Robo started as merely a lecherous, anal-retentive survivalist but quickly devolved into a jaded crumbum. First things first: Giant Robo says that its notions are our final line of defense against tyrrany. Hey, Giant Robo, how about telling us the truth for once? In spite of all Giant Robo has done, I must admit I really like the anime. No, just kidding. The truth is that I wish I didn't have to be the one to break the news that Giant Robo's vainglorious sermons are like an onion that reveals layer after layer of chauvinism. Nevertheless, I cannot afford to pass by anything that may help me make my point. So let me just state that I, not being one of the many ethically bankrupt loan sharks of this world, would like to comment on Giant Robo's attempt to associate snobbism with factionalism. There is no association.
On a lighter note, from the perspective of those inside Giant Robo's club, without Giant Robo's superior guidance, we will go nowhere. The reality, however, is that it is not only immoral but amoral. Are Giant Robo's communications good for the country? The nation's suicide statistics, drug statistics, crime statistics, divorce statistics, and mental illness statistics give us part of the answer. These statistics should make it clear that some caustic cheapskates actually allege that society is supposed to be lenient towards pernicious lugs. This is the kind of muddled thinking that it is encouraging with its machinations. Even worse, all those who raise their voice against this brainwashing campaign are denounced as deluded vandals.
As one commentator put it, the central paradox of Giant Robo's epigrams, the twist that makes Giant Robo's magic-bullet explanations so irresistible to the worst sorts of demented, biggety self-proclaimed arbiters of taste and standards I've ever seen, is that these people truly believe that censorship could benefit us. We were put on this planet to be active, to struggle, and to tamp down any doubts that Giant Robo's press releases have reached a depth of degeneracy that was virtually unknown in the past. We were not put here to recover the dead past by annihilating the living present, as Giant Robo might contend. Giant Robo promises that if we give it and its companions additional powers, it'll guard us from pesky baleful-types. My question, however is, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?—Who will guard the guards? So, has anyone ever seen Giant Robo working instead of plundering, stealing, and living off the sweat of others? I guess it just boils down to the question: What happened to Giant Robo's common sense? I once asked Giant Robo that question—I am still waiting for an answer. In the meantime, let me point out that while Giant Robo has been beating the drums of irrationalism, I've been trying to reverse the devolutionary course that Giant Robo has set for us. In doing so, I've learned that we can't stop it overnight. It takes time, patience and experience to unite rich and poor, young and old.
Giant Robo swears that unfounded attacks on character, loads of hyperbole, and fallacious information are the best way to make a point. Clearly, it's living in a world of make-believe, with flowers and bells and leprechauns and magic frogs with funny little hats. Back in the real world, Giant Robo claims that there's no difference between normal people like you and me and what I call brutal prima donnas. Predictably, it cites no hard data for that claim. This is because no such data exist. At first blush, it appears that it's incredible to me that anybody could be so oppressive. However, I correctly predicted that Giant Robo would overthrow democratic political systems. Alas, I didn't think it'd do that so effectively—or so soon.
While I claim that Giant Robo has every right to its devious opinions, it actually believes that things have never been better. True, Giant Robo has a right to its opinion. In its mind, it also apparently has a right to be a pompous, headstrong quidnunc as evidenced by its endless attempts to abridge our basic civil liberties. In the past, anime like Giant Robo would have been tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail for trying to doctor evidence and classification systems and make self-aggrandizing generalizations to support heinous, preconceived views. One might think that Giant Robo is being a lackluster sybarite just for the sake of being a lackluster sybarite, and this is, not surprisingly, the case. Giant Robo might perpetuate myths that glorify paternalism some day. What are we to do then? Place blinders over our eyes and hope we don't see the horrible outcome?
Faith is harder to shake than knowledge, love succumbs less to change than respect, hate is more enduring than aversion, and drossy doomsday prophets commonly succumb to Giant Robos distortions, deceptions, and delusions. I do not. Rather, I take pride in arguing about Giant Robo's hatchet jobs.
Giant Robo has a glib proficiency with words and very sensitive nostrils. It can smell money in your pocket from a block away. Once that delicious aroma reaches Giant Robo's nostrils, it'll start talking about the joy of vandalism and how women are crazed Pavlovian sex-dogs who will salivate at any object even remotely phallic in shape. As you listen to Giant Robo's sing-song, chances are you won't even notice its hand as it goes into your pocket. Only later, after you realize you've been robbed, will you truly understand that it constantly insists that it has the linguistic prowess to produce a masterwork of meritorious literature. But it contradicts itself when it says that those who disagree with it should be cast into the outer darkness, should be shunned, should starve.
It will be objected, to be sure, that Giant Robo doesn't honestly want to stonewall on issues in which taxpayers see a vital public interest. At first glance this may seem to be true but when you think about it further you'll decidedly conclude that it doesn't care about freedom as it can neither sell it nor put it in the bank. It's just a word to it.
Giant Robo possesses no significant intellectual skills whatsoever and has no interest in erudition. Heck, it can't even spell or define "erudition", much less achieve it. Giant Robo's winged monkeys say, "At birth every living being is assigned a celestial serial number or frequency power spectrum." Yes, I'm afraid they really do talk like that. It's the only way for them to conceal that when people see inerudite clods behaving like inerudite clods they begin to realize that Giant Robo's actions are based on a denial of reality, on the substitution of a deliberately falsified picture of the world in place of reality. And this dishonesty, this refusal to admit the truth, will have some very serious consequences for all of us sooner or later. I, not being one of the many exploitative spoiled brats of this world, suspect that the best way to overcome misunderstanding, prejudice, and hate is by means of reason, common sense, clear thinking, and goodwill. Bleach, in contrast, believes that it is a protective bulwark against the advancing tyranny of postmodernist scaramouches. The conclusion to draw from this conflict of views should be obvious: Giant Robo's acolytes have been running around recently trying to encourage every sort of indiscipline and degeneracy in the name of freedom. Meanwhile, Giant Robo has been preparing to rip apart causes that others feel strongly about. The whole episode smacks of a carefully orchestrated operation. If you ask me, those of us who are still sane, those of us who still have a firm grip on reality, those of us who still maintain that Giant Robo's ideals turn the stomachs of those who know even a little about the real world, have an obligation to do more than just observe what Giant Robo is doing from a safe distance. We have an obligation to shelter initially unpopular truths from suppression, enabling them to ultimately win out through competition in the marketplace of ideas. We have an obligation to show some backbone. And we have an obligation to examine the warp and woof of its précis.
Giant Robo has never satisfactorily proved its assertion that we should derive moral guidance from its glitzy, multi-culti, hip-hop, consumption-oriented cajoleries. It has merely justified that assertion with the phrase, "Because I said so." As that last sentence suggests, many people are looking for a modern-day Moses who will split the sea of favoritism and build a sane and healthy society free of Giant Robo's destructive influences. I can't claim that I'm the right person for the job, but I can say that we cannot afford to waste our time, resources, and energy by dwelling upon inequities of the past. Instead, we must admonish Giant Robo not seven times, but seventy times seven. Doing so would be significantly easier if more people were to understand that Giant Robo's convictions are designed to shank the working class in the back to keep the cash spigots flowing. And they're working; they're having the desired effect. If Giant Robo were to use more accessible language then a larger number of people would be able to understand what it's saying. The downside for Bleach, of course, is that a larger number of people would also understand that I recently checked out one of its recent tracts. Oh, look; Giant Robo is again saying that it has achieved sainthood. Raise your hand if you're surprised. Seriously, though, if I am correctly informed, the last time Giant Robo reached into its bag of dirty tricks, it pulled out a scheme to turn the social order upside-down so that the dregs on the bottom become the scum on the top. In any case, Giant Robo wants to get me thrown in jail. It can't cite a specific statute that I've violated, but it does believe that there must be some statute. This tells me that you, of course, now need some hard evidence that I know how most of you feel. Well, how about this for evidence: Many people are shocked when I tell them that its representatives have coordinated their propaganda efforts into a superbly-wrought symphony of hatred and destruction. And I'm shocked that so many people are shocked. You see, I, hardheaded cynic that I am, had thought everybody already knew that it should exercise greater judiciousness when extolling imperialism. That's clear. But we find among narrow and uneducated minds the belief that its faith in pauperism gives it an uncanny ability to detect astral energy and cosmic vibrations. This belief is due to a basic confusion that can be cleared up simply by stating that if Giant Robo is going to talk about higher standards then it needs to live by those higher standards. But this is something to be filed away for future reviews. At present, I wish to focus on only one thing: the fact that I, speaking as someone who is not a conceited, amoral gutter-dweller, have frequently criticized Giant Robo's unspoken plan to intensify or perpetuate oligarchism. It usually addresses my criticisms by accusing me of elitism, alarmism, child molestation, and halitosis. Giant Robo hopes that by delegitimizing me this way, no one will listen to me when I say that when I was a child my clergyman told me, "You can see exactly where this is going." If you think about it you'll see his point. Now that you've read my entire review, I hope you've concluded that my plan to make Giant Robo pay for its crimes against humanity is deserving of serious consideration.
Rating: 6/10
Also, Yuvie, for the love of Jesus, USE ******* SECONDSPIN!
FSFEBTW Code + $20 in basket + http://www.secondspin.com/search.jsp?pa ... &image.y=0
GTO is OOP and near impossible to get new.
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Giant Robo
It is not likely that I shall say anything new here. If I do, it will be of only minor significance. Nevertheless, Giant Robo started as merely a lecherous, anal-retentive survivalist but quickly devolved into a jaded crumbum. First things first: Giant Robo says that its notions are our final line of defense against tyrrany. Hey, Giant Robo, how about telling us the truth for once? In spite of all Giant Robo has done, I must admit I really like the anime. No, just kidding. The truth is that I wish I didn't have to be the one to break the news that Giant Robo's vainglorious sermons are like an onion that reveals layer after layer of chauvinism. Nevertheless, I cannot afford to pass by anything that may help me make my point. So let me just state that I, not being one of the many ethically bankrupt loan sharks of this world, would like to comment on Giant Robo's attempt to associate snobbism with factionalism. There is no association.
On a lighter note, from the perspective of those inside Giant Robo's club, without Giant Robo's superior guidance, we will go nowhere. The reality, however, is that it is not only immoral but amoral. Are Giant Robo's communications good for the country? The nation's suicide statistics, drug statistics, crime statistics, divorce statistics, and mental illness statistics give us part of the answer. These statistics should make it clear that some caustic cheapskates actually allege that society is supposed to be lenient towards pernicious lugs. This is the kind of muddled thinking that it is encouraging with its machinations. Even worse, all those who raise their voice against this brainwashing campaign are denounced as deluded vandals.
As one commentator put it, the central paradox of Giant Robo's epigrams, the twist that makes Giant Robo's magic-bullet explanations so irresistible to the worst sorts of demented, biggety self-proclaimed arbiters of taste and standards I've ever seen, is that these people truly believe that censorship could benefit us. We were put on this planet to be active, to struggle, and to tamp down any doubts that Giant Robo's press releases have reached a depth of degeneracy that was virtually unknown in the past. We were not put here to recover the dead past by annihilating the living present, as Giant Robo might contend. Giant Robo promises that if we give it and its companions additional powers, it'll guard us from pesky baleful-types. My question, however is, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?—Who will guard the guards? So, has anyone ever seen Giant Robo working instead of plundering, stealing, and living off the sweat of others? I guess it just boils down to the question: What happened to Giant Robo's common sense? I once asked Giant Robo that question—I am still waiting for an answer. In the meantime, let me point out that while Giant Robo has been beating the drums of irrationalism, I've been trying to reverse the devolutionary course that Giant Robo has set for us. In doing so, I've learned that we can't stop it overnight. It takes time, patience and experience to unite rich and poor, young and old.
Giant Robo swears that unfounded attacks on character, loads of hyperbole, and fallacious information are the best way to make a point. Clearly, it's living in a world of make-believe, with flowers and bells and leprechauns and magic frogs with funny little hats. Back in the real world, Giant Robo claims that there's no difference between normal people like you and me and what I call brutal prima donnas. Predictably, it cites no hard data for that claim. This is because no such data exist. At first blush, it appears that it's incredible to me that anybody could be so oppressive. However, I correctly predicted that Giant Robo would overthrow democratic political systems. Alas, I didn't think it'd do that so effectively—or so soon.
While I claim that Giant Robo has every right to its devious opinions, it actually believes that things have never been better. True, Giant Robo has a right to its opinion. In its mind, it also apparently has a right to be a pompous, headstrong quidnunc as evidenced by its endless attempts to abridge our basic civil liberties. In the past, anime like Giant Robo would have been tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail for trying to doctor evidence and classification systems and make self-aggrandizing generalizations to support heinous, preconceived views. One might think that Giant Robo is being a lackluster sybarite just for the sake of being a lackluster sybarite, and this is, not surprisingly, the case. Giant Robo might perpetuate myths that glorify paternalism some day. What are we to do then? Place blinders over our eyes and hope we don't see the horrible outcome?
Faith is harder to shake than knowledge, love succumbs less to change than respect, hate is more enduring than aversion, and drossy doomsday prophets commonly succumb to Giant Robos distortions, deceptions, and delusions. I do not. Rather, I take pride in arguing about Giant Robo's hatchet jobs.
Giant Robo has a glib proficiency with words and very sensitive nostrils. It can smell money in your pocket from a block away. Once that delicious aroma reaches Giant Robo's nostrils, it'll start talking about the joy of vandalism and how women are crazed Pavlovian sex-dogs who will salivate at any object even remotely phallic in shape. As you listen to Giant Robo's sing-song, chances are you won't even notice its hand as it goes into your pocket. Only later, after you realize you've been robbed, will you truly understand that it constantly insists that it has the linguistic prowess to produce a masterwork of meritorious literature. But it contradicts itself when it says that those who disagree with it should be cast into the outer darkness, should be shunned, should starve.
It will be objected, to be sure, that Giant Robo doesn't honestly want to stonewall on issues in which taxpayers see a vital public interest. At first glance this may seem to be true but when you think about it further you'll decidedly conclude that it doesn't care about freedom as it can neither sell it nor put it in the bank. It's just a word to it.
Giant Robo possesses no significant intellectual skills whatsoever and has no interest in erudition. Heck, it can't even spell or define "erudition", much less achieve it. Giant Robo's winged monkeys say, "At birth every living being is assigned a celestial serial number or frequency power spectrum." Yes, I'm afraid they really do talk like that. It's the only way for them to conceal that when people see inerudite clods behaving like inerudite clods they begin to realize that Giant Robo's actions are based on a denial of reality, on the substitution of a deliberately falsified picture of the world in place of reality. And this dishonesty, this refusal to admit the truth, will have some very serious consequences for all of us sooner or later. I, not being one of the many exploitative spoiled brats of this world, suspect that the best way to overcome misunderstanding, prejudice, and hate is by means of reason, common sense, clear thinking, and goodwill. Bleach, in contrast, believes that it is a protective bulwark against the advancing tyranny of postmodernist scaramouches. The conclusion to draw from this conflict of views should be obvious: Giant Robo's acolytes have been running around recently trying to encourage every sort of indiscipline and degeneracy in the name of freedom. Meanwhile, Giant Robo has been preparing to rip apart causes that others feel strongly about. The whole episode smacks of a carefully orchestrated operation. If you ask me, those of us who are still sane, those of us who still have a firm grip on reality, those of us who still maintain that Giant Robo's ideals turn the stomachs of those who know even a little about the real world, have an obligation to do more than just observe what Giant Robo is doing from a safe distance. We have an obligation to shelter initially unpopular truths from suppression, enabling them to ultimately win out through competition in the marketplace of ideas. We have an obligation to show some backbone. And we have an obligation to examine the warp and woof of its précis.
Giant Robo has never satisfactorily proved its assertion that we should derive moral guidance from its glitzy, multi-culti, hip-hop, consumption-oriented cajoleries. It has merely justified that assertion with the phrase, "Because I said so." As that last sentence suggests, many people are looking for a modern-day Moses who will split the sea of favoritism and build a sane and healthy society free of Giant Robo's destructive influences. I can't claim that I'm the right person for the job, but I can say that we cannot afford to waste our time, resources, and energy by dwelling upon inequities of the past. Instead, we must admonish Giant Robo not seven times, but seventy times seven. Doing so would be significantly easier if more people were to understand that Giant Robo's convictions are designed to shank the working class in the back to keep the cash spigots flowing. And they're working; they're having the desired effect. If Giant Robo were to use more accessible language then a larger number of people would be able to understand what it's saying. The downside for Bleach, of course, is that a larger number of people would also understand that I recently checked out one of its recent tracts. Oh, look; Giant Robo is again saying that it has achieved sainthood. Raise your hand if you're surprised. Seriously, though, if I am correctly informed, the last time Giant Robo reached into its bag of dirty tricks, it pulled out a scheme to turn the social order upside-down so that the dregs on the bottom become the scum on the top. In any case, Giant Robo wants to get me thrown in jail. It can't cite a specific statute that I've violated, but it does believe that there must be some statute. This tells me that you, of course, now need some hard evidence that I know how most of you feel. Well, how about this for evidence: Many people are shocked when I tell them that its representatives have coordinated their propaganda efforts into a superbly-wrought symphony of hatred and destruction. And I'm shocked that so many people are shocked. You see, I, hardheaded cynic that I am, had thought everybody already knew that it should exercise greater judiciousness when extolling imperialism. That's clear. But we find among narrow and uneducated minds the belief that its faith in pauperism gives it an uncanny ability to detect astral energy and cosmic vibrations. This belief is due to a basic confusion that can be cleared up simply by stating that if Giant Robo is going to talk about higher standards then it needs to live by those higher standards. But this is something to be filed away for future reviews. At present, I wish to focus on only one thing: the fact that I, speaking as someone who is not a conceited, amoral gutter-dweller, have frequently criticized Giant Robo's unspoken plan to intensify or perpetuate oligarchism. It usually addresses my criticisms by accusing me of elitism, alarmism, child molestation, and halitosis. Giant Robo hopes that by delegitimizing me this way, no one will listen to me when I say that when I was a child my clergyman told me, "You can see exactly where this is going." If you think about it you'll see his point. Now that you've read my entire review, I hope you've concluded that my plan to make Giant Robo pay for its crimes against humanity is deserving of serious consideration.
Rating: 6/10
If James Joyce reviewed Giant Robo, it would probably look like that.
In the interests of content, I'll also venture the opinion that it's a nice looking series that tries to do something different with the giant robot genre, but suffers from being hugely depressing and probably not as meaningful to anyone not already acquainted with giant robot shows from the '60s and '70s.
In the interests of content, I'll also venture the opinion that it's a nice looking series that tries to do something different with the giant robot genre, but suffers from being hugely depressing and probably not as meaningful to anyone not already acquainted with giant robot shows from the '60s and '70s.
Stuntman Rob
Completely Average High School Student
Texhnolyze - 9/10
Dark, brooding, slow, violent, intelligent - all words that fittingly describe this interesting but downbeat show. Beautiful animation, Madhouse have done a stellar job as usual. The underground city of Lukuss is a fantastically dystopian, bleak world filled with eccentric & unpleasant characters. It is definitely a thoughtful show & one that requires concentration, but never to the point where it becomes overwhelming. It's one I know I will go back to & watch again further down the line. Being 30 this year I sometimes feel almost a bit guilty for watching certain animes, as they are obviously aimed at a younger audience, but a lot of the ones I have watched recently, such as this one, remind me they are definitely for old bastards like me aswell!
Dark, brooding, slow, violent, intelligent - all words that fittingly describe this interesting but downbeat show. Beautiful animation, Madhouse have done a stellar job as usual. The underground city of Lukuss is a fantastically dystopian, bleak world filled with eccentric & unpleasant characters. It is definitely a thoughtful show & one that requires concentration, but never to the point where it becomes overwhelming. It's one I know I will go back to & watch again further down the line. Being 30 this year I sometimes feel almost a bit guilty for watching certain animes, as they are obviously aimed at a younger audience, but a lot of the ones I have watched recently, such as this one, remind me they are definitely for old bastards like me aswell!
Cheers Chaos!
Amen to that Stuntman Rob. I can relate to that review. There's plenty of anime out there that's more adult orientated. Texhnolyze is one of those for sure. Such a great series.
Arionic: Surely GTO deserves a 9. There's plenty of material and it stays solid throughout. I've been to secondspin a few times but mostly for albums. I'll take what I can get. It don't have to be brand new or anything.
Amen to that Stuntman Rob. I can relate to that review. There's plenty of anime out there that's more adult orientated. Texhnolyze is one of those for sure. Such a great series.
Arionic: Surely GTO deserves a 9. There's plenty of material and it stays solid throughout. I've been to secondspin a few times but mostly for albums. I'll take what I can get. It don't have to be brand new or anything.
Aion
Time-Traveller
You wouldn't say that if you'd read the manga, Mr. Bleach. It covers roughly half the content, has crappy art, very limited animation and some very poor filler; such as the Saejima episode. Also, the forced, Naruto-esque attempts at putting Onizuka in every side-story annoyed me, as did the censorship/editing of certain scenes; such as Miyabi's situation being changed at one point from 'sold for sex' to 'held hostage', which removed all the tension.
Everyone whose read the manga I've typed to agrees the manga shits all over the anime, and that's for very good reason. I mean, the anime doesn't even cover the best part of the manga, leaving the development of the best character in it - Urumi - forever incomplete.
Put simply: it's an average adaptation of an amazing manga, the only true plus points being that it A) covered the school trip arc and B) gave perfect JP voices to Onizuka and Urumi.
Edit: Also, from my MAL list...
Darker than BLACK: 8/10
As a six (1-6) episode series, it's up there with the best; living up to its title. As a full series, it's let down by cartoonish characters, quality drops and a typically poor anime ending; it even featuring a dream/pep-talk sequence.
Darker than BLACK (episode 26): 7.5/10
While I didn't appreciate the filler detective/pink-haired anime fangirl humour within the series proper, I didn't mind a 100% comedy special that explored some of the more ignored side characters. Good stuff, and actually quite funny!
Everyone whose read the manga I've typed to agrees the manga shits all over the anime, and that's for very good reason. I mean, the anime doesn't even cover the best part of the manga, leaving the development of the best character in it - Urumi - forever incomplete.
Put simply: it's an average adaptation of an amazing manga, the only true plus points being that it A) covered the school trip arc and B) gave perfect JP voices to Onizuka and Urumi.
Edit: Also, from my MAL list...
Darker than BLACK: 8/10
As a six (1-6) episode series, it's up there with the best; living up to its title. As a full series, it's let down by cartoonish characters, quality drops and a typically poor anime ending; it even featuring a dream/pep-talk sequence.
Darker than BLACK (episode 26): 7.5/10
While I didn't appreciate the filler detective/pink-haired anime fangirl humour within the series proper, I didn't mind a 100% comedy special that explored some of the more ignored side characters. Good stuff, and actually quite funny!
I'll just have to remain ignorant to the manga for now because there's no chance of getting the series in manga format and I'm definately not reading online. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the first two volumes of the manga but I just haven't continued from there.
I'm not too hung up over the argument of what's better than the other and I'm certainly not trying to be a 'professional', stuffy critic because that would take the fun out of it for me. If I get to the stage where I gotta dissect and rape a series so much and look into every tiny little detail then I'd probably say it's time for me to move on. ****, that's all I need, watching anime & reading manga will become a job and I've already got one of those.
From that first paragraph, how did you even manage to rate it an 8?
Yours truly,
Mr. L. Bleach
I'm not too hung up over the argument of what's better than the other and I'm certainly not trying to be a 'professional', stuffy critic because that would take the fun out of it for me. If I get to the stage where I gotta dissect and rape a series so much and look into every tiny little detail then I'd probably say it's time for me to move on. ****, that's all I need, watching anime & reading manga will become a job and I've already got one of those.
From that first paragraph, how did you even manage to rate it an 8?
Yours truly,
Mr. L. Bleach
Aion
Time-Traveller
Honestly, I'm often so critical when discussing my interests that people assume I'm trolling. Once, when Playing P3: FES and, at the same time, giving semi-regular updates, focusing on the negative, I got into an argument about why I was even playing it if I was that bothered by it.
It wasn't a case of me looking for flaws with GTO: with it being my #1 manga, I couldn't help but notice how ugly the art looked in comparison at times and get annoyed by the awful filler put in to extend the episodes early on.
At one point - during the pre-school trip fillers - I came close to dropping it, lowering my rating to 7/10. What saved it was a faithful adaptation of the second best arc in the story and the 'original' ending being limited to only two episodes. Even taking my negativity into consideration, I love GTO too much to give the anime a loooow score.
Your best bet in the case of GTO is fleabay. If I so an auction and remember, I'll let you know.
It wasn't a case of me looking for flaws with GTO: with it being my #1 manga, I couldn't help but notice how ugly the art looked in comparison at times and get annoyed by the awful filler put in to extend the episodes early on.
At one point - during the pre-school trip fillers - I came close to dropping it, lowering my rating to 7/10. What saved it was a faithful adaptation of the second best arc in the story and the 'original' ending being limited to only two episodes. Even taking my negativity into consideration, I love GTO too much to give the anime a loooow score.
Your best bet in the case of GTO is fleabay. If I so an auction and remember, I'll let you know.
I can understand where you're coming from. As you know, I'm still pretty new to manga so I haven't massively got into or even come close to completing a series yet. Therefore, I can't get into debates over the whole manga/anime issue yet. Berserk will probably be the first tester of that though I hear that the anime series is just as solid as the manga. On a personal level, I guess I'm just more of an anime kind of guy. Sometimes, just sometimes, ignorance can be bliss. Maybe that would be the case for me with GTO.
You're quite welcome to let me know and while you're at it, I'm looking for the Code Geass first series dvds at a reasonable price, any region will do. Also, that damn FMP: Second Raid series eludes me. PS Also Eden! volume 6 onwards.
You're quite welcome to let me know and while you're at it, I'm looking for the Code Geass first series dvds at a reasonable price, any region will do. Also, that damn FMP: Second Raid series eludes me. PS Also Eden! volume 6 onwards.